Rare gull has birdwatchers flocking to Plymouth

Tuesday

Jan 27, 2009 at 12:01 AMJan 27, 2009 at 10:55 PM

Birdwatchers from far and near have been flocking to Plymouth and Gloucester in hopes of adding an extremely rare bird to their life list. Ivory gulls normally stay well above Newfoundland living on artic ice where they follow polar bears to feed on the scraps and carcasses they leave behind after making a kill.The last report of a fully mature ivory gull in Massachusetts occurred in the 1800s. In 1976 an immature bird was spotted in Rockport. Three other immature birds were seen in the 1940s.

Randy Julius

Temperatures were in the single digits in Plymouth early Monday morning. At the far end of the boat ramp parking lot, behind East Bay Grille, nearly 20 birdwatchers braved the frigid air as they scanned the bay and the edges of the breakwater with binoculars and spotting scopes.

They were hoping to catch a glimpse of a rare, fully mature ivory gull, which a birdwatcher reported last week. A second ivory gull has been seen at Eastern Point Lighthouse in Gloucester.

The last report of a fully mature ivory gull in Massachusetts occurred in the 1800s. In 1976 an immature bird was spotted in Rockport. Three other immature birds were seen in the 1940s. Ivory gulls normally stay well above Newfoundland living on artic ice where they follow polar bears to feed on the scraps and carcasses they leave behind after making a kill.

Birdwatchers from far and near have been flocking to both locations in hopes of adding the extremely rare bird to their life list. John Fox of Arlington, Va., and his friend Adam D’Onofrio of Petersburg drove more than eight hours on Sunday to see the gull.

“No bird this morning,” Fox said with a shake of his head. “We left Virginia at three in the morning yesterday and arrived here 20 minutes too late.”

Sunday morning hundreds of people got to observe and photograph the gull as it fed on a chicken carcass someone put out on one of the docks in the parking lot. The bird stayed until 11 a.m. then flew across the harbor. It was not seen again for the rest of the day.

“We arrived at 11:20 and spent the rest of the afternoon in the parking lot, hoping it would return,” Fox said.

They spent the night at Pilgrim Sands Motel and arrived at the parking lot early Monday morning for one more chance to see the ivory gull before returning to Virginia. Fox said it was his first time in Massachusetts and if he didn’t see the bird, at least he would get to see Plymouth Rock before they left for home.

“That’s how it goes sometimes,” he said. “We don’t always see what we come for, but it’s nice to see some of the sights when you travel to a new area in hopes of seeing a rare bird.”

Fox said they were trying to figure out when they should leave for home so they could avoid New York traffic. A sudden commotion caught his attention as one of the birders pointed toward the sky and said with a shout, “There it is.”

The pure white gull was flying toward the parking lot, silhouetted against a bright blue sky. Someone in the crowd announced for the record the gull had arrived at 7:45 a.m.

The bird flew in circles overhead, then landed on a snow bank in the middle of the parking lot. Cameras clicked and the birders “oohed and ahhhed” each time the ivory gull switched positions.

The gull eyeballed the chicken carcass, still there from the day before, but it didn’t eat. Instead, it flew to the railing along the edge of the boat ramp and perched with a group of sea gulls. The photographers followed, changing positions to take advantage of the best lighting.

Fox stood with the group, talking with other birdwatchers, as the gull sat peacefully on the railing observing all the people gathered around it. Was it worth the long drive up from Virginia?